Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with power FET devices, as an example.
Heretofore, in this field, as VHSIC electronics emerged, it became obvious that power distribution practices and power supply technology were not adequate to supply well regulated power to using circuitry. The concept of centralized power with decoupled loads simply has not worked well. As we move into the GaAs era, the power distribution problem moves from standard design techniques to real point-of-use regulators.
GaAs VFETs are attractive for high-efficiency switching power supplies. Several studies have concluded that the intrinsic devices have a factor of 5 to 8 lower on-resistance per unit area, as compared to state-of-the-art DMOS or UMOS power devices fabricated by the most advanced processes available. In addition, GaAs VFETs have excellent switching speed, on the order of 1 to 2 ns. Therefore, with such a device, the efficiency of switching power supplies can be significantly improved.